The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb: Searching for Jesus Path of Power in a Church That Has Abandoned It

by Jamin Goggin, Kyle Strobel

Pastor Jamin Goggin and theology professor Kyle Strobel invite readers on a journey to uncover Jesus’ seemingly contradictory way to weakness. Why do so many rock-star pastors implode under the spotlight? Why do modern-day churches become so entangled in growing their brand that they lose sight of their true purpose? Because, according to Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel, Christians have succumbed to the temptations of power and forgotten Jesus’ seemingly contradictory path to power—first giving it up. In The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb , Goggin and Strobel paint a richly biblical vision of power through weakness. They invite readers to join them on an adventure around the world, seeking out great sages of the faith with uncommon wisdom to offer those traveling the path of Christian life. As readers eavesdrop on the authors’ conversations with people such as J. I. Packer, Dallas Willard, Marva Dawn, John Perkins, Jean Vanier, James Houston, and Eugene Peterson, they begin to piece together the new-old reality of following Jesus today. In the end, The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb offers a compelling vision of the way of Jesus that will challenge both individual believers and the church as a whole.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Leadership, Christian Living, Faith, Christianity, Church

247 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Jamin Goggin serves as Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Retreats at Saddleback Church. He holds an MA in Spiritual Formation and an MA in New Testament and is currently earning a PhD in Theology. He is the co-author of "Beloved Dust" and co-editor of "Reading the Christian Spiritual Classics". Jamin speaks and writes from the depths of his own journey, seeking to invite others into the beauty and goodness of life with God.

For more information on Jamin's ministry and writing visit www.metamorpha.com.

Reviews

[Carmen Imes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm grateful for this book. Kyle Strobel and Jamin Goggin interviewed Christian leaders who who exude humility, share power with others, and live in sync with the way of Jesus -- in weakness and servanthood. It's such a needed message in a culture in which the church has absorbed the pursuit of upward mobility, and where pastors view congregants as "platform-building" for their own book deals and speaking tours. Challenging and relevant!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hyperventilating through most of this book. It's based on the simple but difficult idea that power in leadership and ministry comes only through the weakness and humility we see in Jesus. Anything else will end up biting you in the rear end. Now, most well-intended Christians would probably agree that we must be humble servants...in theory. But Goggin and Strobel expose the ease with which lust for power has permeated the evangelical church and its most trusted leaders. What was most disarming to me is how the authors saw a longing for worldly power (the "dragon," as they call it) in themselves. So rather than writing a book centered on their own solutions, they chase down older sages of the Christian faith--not auditorium-filling superstar pastors, mind you, but the quiet and the faithful--as examples of the cruciform life Jesus calls us to emulate. I thought I was humble. But by page 25, I already saw so much "dragon" in me. Indeed, I've not had my own heart and inclinations exposed like this since I read Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. In a culture where polished leaders, entrepreneurs, and influencers burn out and implode, this is a fountain of fresh water that I hope church leaders and ministers drink from for years to come. I wish I could have read it ten years ago. And I know I will be rereading it more than once. #dragonorlamb

[Demetrius Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the concept of this book. It's structured around interviews of "sages in the faith, who embodied power in weakness." And it includes an interview with one of my favorite authors, Eugene Peterson. Chapters 3 and 7 alone are worth the price of the book - the ones on James Houston and (you guessed it) Peterson. So I loved the book! But, I'll have to say I was disappointed to find that many of the interviews were quite short. The authors spent a couple of days with James Houston, and it showed with the quality of chapter 3. Very good! But, the rest of the interviews seemed to be no more than an hour long. To make up for this, I thought the the authors could've interacted a bit more with their works, but not much of that took place (aside from Peterson's writings). So I think the overall execution suffered a bit from minimal exposure to their subjects.

However, the overall concept was awesome. I think the authors are on to something very important here. The authors took James 3:13-18 and talked about the wisdom that comes from above, versus worldly wisdom that comes from below. Christians, ministries, and pastors are often tempted to choose the way of the dragon (this is a metaphor Peterson uses from his book Reversed Thunder). It stands for the wisdom from below, and it's effective and powerful. But the way of the lamb (the wisdom from above) is powerful too - it's just doesn't seem like it at the time.

I went through and highlighted how the book contrasted these two ways, and here's a list I came away with:

Power from below-
-Seeks to control, dominate and succeed.
-Thrives on competition.
-Leverages relationships
-Gets in with the right people.
-Creates a culture of fear.
-Emphasizes strengths; hides weaknesses.
-Finds identity in status.
-Is addicted to crowds.
-Is fond of metrics and statistics.
-Relishes being "the guy."
-Obsessed with recognition.
-Says to self, "I can make it happen," "I have what it takes," and "I'll just try harder."

Versus the Power that comes from above-
-Seeks to serve others.
-Is okay with being last.
-Avoids control.
-Embraces littleness.
-Befriends opponents.
-Leans into relationship.
-Is vulnerable in community.
-Emphasizes weaknesses; hides strengths.
-Is faithful in the hidden place.
-Is content with anonymity.
-Cultivates a sense of nobodyness.
-Pursues and worships God in the ordinary.
-Emphasizes prayer and care.
-Operates in kindness and forgiveness.
-Says to God, "I need You," "I am lost without You," and "Apart from You I can do nothing."

After I got done with this book, I had the taste of the beatitudes in my mouth. So I flipped over to Matthew chapter 5, and sure enough - this book is a beautiful restatement of the way of Jesus.

"Doing Jesus things in Jesus ways" is the most powerful thing in the world.

[Keith Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve gone beyond assigning a number of stars for a goodreads review but this book had such a profound effect on me and I’d like so much to see other Christians read it that I couldn’t let it go at just that. This is a penetrating examination of what it means to follow Jesus in the way of the cross, a way that voluntarily embraces weakness, humility, service, even rejection, while depending on God to work the power of his kingdom in and through one’s life.

Among the things I greatly appreciated about the book is that the authors, two young, gifted, and accomplished followers of Christ, sought counsel from older saints (J. I. Packer, John Perkins, Marva Dawn, James Houston, Jean Vanier, Eugene Peterson, and Dallas Willard) with decades-long track records of faithful life and ministry. Their questions focused on what these believers have learned about weakness being essential to knowing the power of Christ.

As I read, I was continually struck by how diametrically opposed the wisdom from above (the way of the Lamb) and the wisdom from below (the way of the dragon) are to each other. I was also frequently made aware of how much my own thinking and that of much of contemporary evangelicalism is permeated with assumptions about and desires for power and success as the world defines them. “Do I really believe that Jesus’ is the path to real life, not only for eternity but now?” was a question I constantly asked myself. The authors, through reflections on their encounters with their interviewees and their candid admissions of their own temptations to avoid weakness, stirred a desire to know Christ more intimately in the fellowship of his suffering and the power of his resurrection.

This isn’t a book targeting pastors but I would love to see every pastor read it. Leaders of other Christian organizations could also stand to gain from its content. I can't help thinking how timely and necessary this book is for the American church. I hope many believers will prayerfully take it up. 

[Bruce Dickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Would recommend every Christian embrace the deep call to weakness and true dependence on God as discovered by the authors and modeled by everyone they interview. The answer to the current pragmatism and looking to impressive men and worldly methods to lead the Church rather than Christ and the servanthood he so clearly told us was the way to greatness in the kingdom. Especially loved the final chapter which spoke of suffering well and the way of suffering to truly learn obedience and trust.

[Gavin Huse · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

First half of the book is worth the read (4 stars): interviews of modern day saints that are great and stories to give a window into the American Church for people who may have rose-colored glasses still.

Second half had room to be more practical and didn’t synthesize the first half imho. Was hard to follow train of thoughts and not pointed in its wording and writing, but had its best moments when quoting guys like Kuyper and in some general wise quips.

Worth a weekend or two, but feel free to speed read the second half.

[Noah Senthil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is deeply insightful, piercing book that does not flatter the modern evangelical church—though it isn’t despairing either. We are all tempted to take the way of the dragon. Strobel and Goggin are not as interested in pointing fingers as guiding us—through the wisdom of Christian sages—into a life of wisdom and weakness, or in other words, the way of the lamb.

To be blunt, we have no idea how severely we’ve capitulated to the spirit of the age in our lives, ministries, and churches. That spirit is a dark, unclean one, and at present, we lack the discernment and courage to exorcise it from our midst. We need the Holy Spirit of the living God more than anything else, and we need faithful Christian sages, who will guard and protect the flock of God, and pass the down the faith to the next generations. This is the primary insight of the book, and certainly something that needs to be said.

[Zach Hollifield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very worthwhile for all Christians wielding any kind of power, especially those called to vocational ministry.

[Jon Nitta · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to understate the relevance and importance of this book. Not only is its arrival timely with power at the center of pastors failing but also the widespread embrace of some practices to measure and control ministry. Both Kyle and Jamin have spent years preparing and writing this book and the result is a robust understanding of theology of power/weakness while taking the readers on a journey to meet modern sages who offer us much wisdom with regards to the proper and improper use of power (the way from above and the way from below). While many might think the book is targeted just toward those in ministry, it's important to realize that everyone uses power in a formation sense to fill, to gain importance, to measure, and control. In the broadest sense then, this is a book that any well-meaning Christian should read.

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very good and very convicting. It has already been fodder for so much meditation and I anticipate I will be returning to the ideas explored in it for a lifetime.

[Henry Haney · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many pause and ponder moments in this gem from Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel.

The big question in this book is: What does power look like for Christians and how can it be effectively be lived out? The authors challenge the way much of Christian culture has abandoned the biblical standard of “power in weakness” for worldly forms and models of power. However, this book is much less a rebuke and more a genuine search for real answers. The journey includes insightful interviews with J.I. Packer, Dallas Willard, Marva Dawn, John Perkins, Jean Vanier, James Houston and Eugene Peterson.

Important message for Christians today. Left me with a lot to think about.

“This desire to be special, to be significant and powerful, is endemic in our culture; and we bring those things to the body of Christ. We imbibe the social hierarchies of the world-with its focus on celebrity, material possessions, and these values become our litmus test for spiritual wisdom and status-and we bring these values into the Christian life. Then these values become our litmus test for spiritual wisdom and leadership.”

“Wisdom and talent are not synonyms.”

“The flourishing self is the abiding self, not the actualized self. It is the self wholly dependent upon Jesus. This is what a genuinely human existence looks like.”

[Benjamin Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully helpful book that every pastor and aspiring minister should read. It helped me think about some sinful tendencies in my own life and I wouldn’t have connected as easily if not for this book. It also helped me think through better ways to practically love my church members. I have some qualms about the way one chapter was handled: although the point was helpful, I think it could have been made in a better way. Overall, a very helpful book.

[h.f. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strobel and Goggin give a needed and timely discussion on Christian power, especially in evangelical culture. This work is honest, balanced, and Christ glorifying. It speaks the truth in love while still having a hope for the church. A necessary rebuke for any Christian leader and believer in general.

[Will Lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid book that challenges the driving motivation of a follower of Jesus. A strong reminder to be weary of the insidious ways that creep in and take over unknowingly — then to take captive and recalibrate one’s focus entirely on Jesus’ way. Highly recommend.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Note: This book was provided free of charge by BookLook/Thomas Nelson. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

It is hard to know what to make of this book. On the one hand, this book has a lot of tiresome and offensive elements of social gospelism, the attempt to paint Evangelical Christianity in some sort of crisis that can only be overcome by giving in to ungodly left-wing politics and wallowing in white guilt, as the authors do far too often. On a more positive side, though, when the authors can stop the political grandstanding and focusing on their own uninteresting perspectives and actually get around to talking about more interesting people who they claim to be inspired by like C.S. Lewis and Henri Nouwen [1], the book is actually interesting. The authors touchingly note their own attempts to get to know an older generation of socially inclined believers who are near death, and the book takes on a melancholy elegiac tone at times as the authors talk about dementia and declining health. It is also somewhat melancholy that this book could have been so much better if it had writers who had a clue about biblical Christianity and were not merely evangelists for contemporary whiny left-wing Christendom, something this world needs a lot less of.

The contents of this book largely consist of too wordy accounts of the sad pilgrimage of the authors to various other, better, authors with something worthwhile to say. It is a book about books, where the authors try to borrow from the reputation of the people they talk with to support their own ersatz Christianity, with which they seek to overthrow a straw man of Christian leaders enraptured by a worldly view of power. In a bit more than 200 pages the authors discuss their physical and intellectual journeys to figures such as Marva Dawn, Eugene Peterson, James Houston, J.I. Packer, John Perkins, Jean Vanier, and Dallas Willard. The authors are at their best when they forget about themselves and focus on the other people they are with, their books, their lives, their friendships with even more famous Christian leaders of the past. There are times where this book is genuinely enjoyable to read, before the authors ruin the mood with some other ill-timed or ill-placed comment that shows they are left-wing tools without anything worthwhile to provide to the conversation on their own. The sole value of this book for someone who is not already in agreement with these misguided people is in showing how we can appreciate those who came before us and be inspired by believers from generations past from whose examples we have much to learn. Fortunately, this is of considerable value.

There is a deep contradiction in this book, as is so often the case of other books of its kind. On the one hand, the authors decry the love of people with power and those with positions of power, and yet the authors themselves appear to enjoy being around famous people and those associated with the famous people of the past, and their political worldview includes a love of government power being used to help those they view as oppressed and disadvantaged and therefore worthy of aid. It appears that the authors only have a problem with power when it is held by conservatives or people who take the Bible more seriously than they do. This sort of hypocrisy makes the authors extremely difficult to read, as one wonders why these people even have platforms to spread their bogus views anyway. The authors and their viewpoints should be limited to self-published works that no one has to see unless they go out of their way to look for it, which would be a waste of everyone's time and money.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

[Cat Caird · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really helpful and important book. It looks at worldly power in the church (success in numbers, charisma, efficiency) compared to power in the way of Christ, which looks like the cross: full of weakness and suffering. It's a humbling book & makes me think of my own heart & ways I want power in my life.

Yet there is an elephant in the room. One of the people they interviewed as a good example, has recently been in the news for abusing his power. It was hard to read, but it demonstrates that sin is crouching at all our doors, our hearts are deceptive & we need Jesus above all.

Also, I would have loved to have seen more women in the book, they only interviewed a few men & one wife. There are many women in the mission field that are faithful, preaching the gospel, enduring suffering & not seeking fame or worldly power. We have a lot to learn from them.

[BJ Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a strong prophetic call to the church to rediscover the calling of Christ. The way of the Dragon, often also called the way from below in this book, is the way of talent and ambition. It is the way most of us operate most of the time and it is the way the world assumes we all ought to live. The way of the Lamb, or the way from above, is the way of servanthood. It is the way of John 15 where Jesus took on the role of a servant and then called us to do the same. It is the way of Philippians 2 where Paul tells us we should have the mind of Christ. We should look not to our own interests but rather to the interests of others.

Yes. That's great. But how? Through this book, the authors Jamin and Kyle seek out godly seasoned saints who they believe have done well in exemplifying what it means to live out the way of the Lamb. In consecutive chapters we get to see glimpses into their conversations with the author: JI Packer, the founder of Regent: James Houston, author and theologian: Marva Dawn, the Pastor: Eugene Peterson, the civil rights activist: John Perkins, and the philosopher: Dallas Willard. Each of these has decades of service, wisdom, and insight to impart. Honestly, I would be hard-pressed to come up with a list of six other names I would rather hear from. My only disappointment was that we get only snippets from each interview. I would much rather have had a longer book where we got to get a much deeper look into these conversations.

Another thing I loved about this book was that it fleshed out what it was trying to convey. John and Kyle repeatedly took the humility of admitting their own failings and recognizing that this is an ideal that, at many times they still fall short on. They aren't preaching at their readership, but rather inviting them on a long and hard journey of walking together trying to embody what it looks like to follow Christ. There were many times when it would have been easy to take on an accusatory tone. One of the original interviewees was Jean Vanier, who it was later found had been living a lifestyle of sexual abuse. Rather than ignoring the issue, or throwing him under the bus, the authors did an excellent job of discussing how we should react when people we look up to have failed.

In all, this book is a must-read for those in spiritual leadership. I would recommend it for everyone, but pastors and leaders should certainly get their hands on it, and seminaries and Bible Colleges should absolutely make it a syllabus requirement in their appropriate classes. I am knocking a star because I would have preferred more of the interviews and perhaps a little bit less commentary on the interviews, this is a personal choice and others might disagree.

Some quotes:

"You should have a fifty-year plan - a vision of growth over a long period of time as you embrace your weakness."

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried."

"Wisdom and talent are not synonyms."

"Racism is not simply the sum total of all racists, but it is a system of evil that is greater than the sum of its parts."

"[MLK Jr] chose nonviolence because his movement was resisting evil itself and not simply the evil person. Nonviolent resistance seeks to expose a system of evil to the evildoer so that he sees it for what it is. It is the kind of action that unearths the truth of a person's heart."

"You need to know how to abandon yourself to God. Methods are often temporary, but what God is looking for is a life."

"The problem with our conception of generosity is that we tend to think only in terms of money. But a generous person is someone who gives more than money. A generous person gives themself to another."

"As we journey through this present evil age, faithful living will entail suffering. Suffering is assumed on every page of scripture. The question is not if we will suffer, but how we will suffer and if our suffering will be meaningful."



I have received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. This in no way affected my rating or the content of that review.

[Jason Poling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this was an excellent and convicting book. The only thing I found slightly ironic and off-putting was this...

They seem to assume that "power from beneath" does not often exist in "professorial" type personalities but only in charismatic ones. This ironically, allows them to critique leaders behind pulpits (pastors with strong personalities) while going on a pilgrimage of sorts to seek wisdom from leaders behind pens (scholars and authors who speak with the genteel tones of the Academy). Although I fully agree the pulpiteers must be critiqued, the other leaders of the Evangelical Machine must be critiqued as well.

Even though I have appreciated the writings of Willard, Peterson, and Dawn, these individuals are still in the "celebrity" and "power" class in evangelicalism. They may have demure personalities and be able to turn phrases that seem more humble than the charismatic preacher (nuance always titillates the sophisticated and makes them think "smart equals spiritual"), but this does not guarantee their wisdom comes from "above". A gentle personality is no guarantee the fruit of true gentleness flows deep within them. The authors' shock at the duplicity of Jean Varnier was a helpful reminder to them and all of us that personality type is a broken bellwether of true and false spirituality.

I think the book would have been more helpful if they had sought the wisdom of truly unknown workers in the Kingdom of God: consistently faithful pastors, professors, counselors, and "mere Christians" the world has never heard of and the world will soon forget, even after being interviewed for a Thomas Nelson book. It would have been a greater blessing to hear from these who have exhibited true "power from above" as proven by their willingness to serve Christ and His People in total obscurity.

[Edwin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I will probably return to over the years, as a reminded that Christian ministry and Kingdom "Power" is rooted in weakness leaning in dependence on God.

Over and over, as I began to think that I had finally ingested their main point and that the authors were only repeating themselves to get to book-length, they would contribute a new facet of their thesis that I had not considered. They demonstrate how love from weakness and dependence pervades every part of life, from liturgy to prayer to social work.

Finally, the format they chose for the first half of the book, to use interviews with older saints to understand the theme of weakness was profoundly helpful and sobering. In much the same way as reading missionary accounts helps us to rightly understand missions work, reading the reflections of these "sages" helps us to understand growing old in Christ.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains wisdom in navigating what following Jesus really looks like. There are many thought provoking points and some helpful examples of ways we are often think we are "taking the high road" when we are actually using the strategies of below. While much seems directed toward those in ministry, there are nuggets of truth and healthy challenges applicable to anyone.

I personally didn't care for the writing style of going back and forth between the two authors and also back and forth between deep theology and screenplay like accounts of the travel between interviews, etc.
That said, the book was well worth reading.

[Anthony Locke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a "right book at the right time" kind of book for me. The authors argue that people today, particularly pastors, have an unhealthy and potentially sinful lust for power. The authors helpfully nuance the pursuit of power, prominence, and prestige with general pride. I had never thought of myself as "power hungry" but this book challenged me to reexamine my motives. Am I, as Paul Washer has put it, "jostling for prominence on America's stage?" The authors go interview a number of big names in Evangelicalism who they thought graciously handled the big stage - men like J.I. Packer, Dallas Willard, and Eugene Peterson. The authors do a good job taking the reader along for the journey as they look for answers on how to avoid the way of the dragon and embrace the way of the lamb.

[Tim Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read it.
If you are a follower of Christ.
Just read it.

Challenging to the max, if you allow it to speak to you and how you view power.

This is one book that should be read slowly and reflectively. Even if you don't agree with everything or would nuance things differently. It will challenge you to be more Christ like.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book highlighting the way of Christ and those that have lived it out. If only we all could embrace the way of weakness in our turbulent times! There is invitation here, and guidance toward the better way. Take up and read.

[Keri Geary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sobering, humbling, convicting, and deeply helpful book that often brought me to tears and prayers of lament. Should be required reading for anyone working in a church or ministry. The stakes are too high to not consider these authors’ warnings.

[Colson Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writers were explicit that this book is an example of writing to understand (as opposed to writing to be understood). I appreciated the humility with which they examined their own lives and experiences and sought out the wisdom of Scripture and of saints.

[Drew Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truthfully one of the greatest books I have read. It’s thought provoking and convicting. I would deeply recommend this book to any Christian, but specifically anyone in ministry. This book opened my eyes in so many ways and I cannot recommend it enough!

[Nicole Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with church staff and I liked

[Stuart Turton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount of times I wrote 'Wow' in the margins, I was convinced my pen would run dry before I reached the end of the book!

The two authors both grew up in the seeker-sensitive movement during its heyday. One in Willow Creek, the other in Saddleback, two of the bastions for the Church Growth Movement in America. As they've come into adulthood and a ministry vocation, both have had to wrestle with the repercussions of such power-oriented church cultures. Interestingly, one of the authors, Kyle Strobel, is the son of the journalist Lee Strobel, known for his book The Case for Christ. And while WDOWL is not about establishing the truth of the Christian faith, it does employ a similar journalistic approach. The authors travel the world in search of the pre-eminent examples of men and women whose ministry was characterized by power in weakness.

One of the most satisfying and surprising aspects of the book, was the sincere and delicate manner in which the authors managed to capture the humble, tender, and almost irrelevant details of their interviewees, which added a welcome dimension to their message of power in weakness. In this vein, the most impactful line of the book must undoubtedly go to James Houston, as he assures his wife suffering with dementia: "...what matters is not that you remember him [Jesus], but that he remembers you." pg. 56

The chapters with the most cash value, in my opinion, are 6 & 7. Eugene Peterson and Dallas Willard have a grasp of the current ministry and leadership climate that is hard to beat. I genuinely believe that these two chapters should be compulsory seminary reading for all pastors training in the West today. And given that a great deal of the pressure in ministry comes from the most influential members within the congregation, I would definitely promote it for their consumption as well.

It is hard to overstate just how much reassurance a book like this gives to young ministers, and add to them the old and still "unsuccessful" ministers, of which the majority are. When celebrity pastors have, by virtue of their status, such an enormous influence over our conceptions of successful ministry, ordinary ministers are implicitly imbibing a 'rightness' to this way of power. Read this book and let the weights drop from your shoulders, so that you can once again return to the easy yoke of Jesus Christ.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few books have directly ministered to me while reading them, and "Way of the Dragon" immediately jumped onto that list. Goggin and Strobel peel back the layers of church organization and strategies in North America, and they avoid merely paying lip service to ideas like "servant leadership" and "finding your strength in your weakness" that are thrown around so frequently in Christian circles. Rather, they are brutally honest about their own struggles with seeking power, while providing a direct challenge the church's capitulation to the worldly quest for power. What most impressed me was their ability to speak clearly and humbly without pulling punches. This does not read like a screed against our culture or the church, but a loving admonition and reminder of the way to power modeled in Jesus.

On a personal note, as someone who grew up in the Western Evangelical church, who has been praised for my talents my whole life, and is currently in full-time vocational ministry, I nearly physically trembled while reading parts of this book. My own inner-wrestling match with my soul, over a desire for worldly influence, was laid bare, and this is largely due to the honestly of the writers. This accounts for the spiritual experience of reading "Way," and is why I will likely be re-reading it in the future.

While the writers stumbled ever-so-slightly in some application areas at the end, the autobiographical and "travel memoir" sections are profound. Definitely highly recommended.

[Wes F · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a timely & relevant book. Because we're oh-so dependent, weak, humble, self-effacing, willing to suffer & take risks...or maybe not. This quote does a good job for me of summing up the main gist that this book makes so well:
"In a culture drunk on power and in need of an intervention, the church has too often become an enabler. In many places, churches openly affirm the way from below. Instead of being told how desperately I am in need of God, I am repeatedly told how much God needs me. Instead of being exhorted to pick up my cross and follow Christ, I am told that Jesus wants to be my partner in the plan I have to rid my life of all struggles and challenges. We hear gospels of moralism, centering on my power to become a better person, and we hear sermons offering up God as merely another resource along my journey for successful and happy living. Sermons become pep talks amid a quest for power and significance. Instead of worship being an invitation to come before God in humble awe and reverence, worship becomes an experience meant to lift us above the travails of everyday life and give us a sense of transcendence. Instead of hearing God’s vision of redeeming all things in Christ by the power of his Holy Spirit, we hear of the pastor’s vision to grow an even bigger church that does bigger things so that he can be powerful and we can be powerful with him."